The present invention relates to a scent diffusion apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method in which original scents for scents to be diffused are individually contained and original scents for the desired scent are properly mixed at a desired point in time based on scent information on various scents stored in a database in advance, to thereby diffuse the desired scent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,502 is disclosed as technology related to the present invention. This patent is technology for diffusing a scent and outputting a sound for a decorative article, which includes a container containing compressed liquid for making a scent therein, a driver for opening and closing a valve for the container, a diffusion tube connected to the container, a plurality of nozzles and a sound generator. A controller controls the decorative article to open the valve of the container to diffuse the scent and output the sound, in order to enhance a decorative effect.
As another related prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,341 is disclosed. This patent discloses a spraying apparatus for spraying liquid by means of a pump which is repeatedly driven by a solenoid, which includes the pump, a piston, a pusher and an actuator.
As still another related prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,258 is disclosed. This patent discloses a rechargeable liquid spraying apparatus which includes an actuator head, a tank containing liquid, an angular position mechanism and an axial position mechanism, in which a pump is installed in the tank.
As yet another related prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,025 is disclosed. This patent discloses a method and apparatus for spraying a medicine, scent or liquid in the form of liquid or gas.
However, in the above related prior art, liquid is sprayed into the air as liquid particles using a nozzle, and a vaporization rate is changed according to time based on change of temperature or peripheral circumstance. Thus, a desired scent could not be emitted to a desired subject at a correct concentration. Therefore, it becomes a much bigger problem when a few scents are desired to be mixed at a correct concentration to produce a new scent.
It is also difficult to manufacture a diffusion unit in a compact fashion, since the above related prior art uses a device for containing the compressed liquid or a device for compressing liquid. It is also difficult to control an amount of diffusion precisely. The prior art using a separate controller cannot be interfaced with a general purpose computer. In particular, technologies for mixing and controlling scents should be developed separately.
To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a scent diffusion apparatus for evaporating a scent and diffusing the evaporated scent in the air.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a scent diffusion apparatus which can be manufactured in a compact fashion and can be interfaced with a general purpose computer, in which an amount of diffusion can be controlled precisely.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a scent diffusion apparatus and method for mixing original scents for a desired scent precisely at a desired point in time and diffusing the desired scent.
To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there is provided a scent diffusion apparatus comprising: scent spraying means containing individual original scents, for diffusing and spraying a desired scent using at least one original scent among the contained original scents; a first storing unit for storing position information of each of the individual original scents contained in the scent spraying unit; a second storing unit for storing information on the scents to be diffused; a timer for setting a point in time of diffusion of a scent to be diffused; and a controller for reading position information on the original scents and information on the scents to be diffused from the first and second store units, setting a scent diffusion point in time in the timer according to the information read, and controlling a scent to be diffused in the scent spraying unit at the set point in time.
The scent spraying means comprises a plurality of scent spraying units, wherein each spraying unit comprises: a container containing the original scent; an opening and closing unit for receiving the sealed container; a heater for evaporating the scent in the container; an air intake unit for allowing air to enter the scent diffusion apparatus; and an outlet unit for discharging a scent mixture in which the intake air is mixed with the scent evaporated by the heater.
The first storing unit constructs positions of the scent spraying units with respect to the original scents in the database, and stores the same in the database.
The second storing unit constructs in a database the kind, constituent ratio, concentration and diffusion condition of individual original scents necessary for diffusing a desired scent with respect to scents to be diffused, and stores the same in a database.
Also, the scent spraying means comprises a single scent spraying unit, wherein each scent spraying unit comprises: a plurality of scent cartridges storing the original scents individually; spraying nozzles provided in each of the plurality of the scent cartridges, for spraying the original scents contained in the scent cartridges; an evaporation dish for evaporating the original scents sprayed from the scent cartridges via the spraying nozzles; an air intake unit for providing a source of external air; and an air outlet unit for discharging a mixed gas in which the intake air is mixed to form the scent evaporated by the evaporation dish.
There is also provided a scent diffusion method according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: (a) storing a plurality of individual original scents; (b) constructing and storing, in a database, information necessary for producing a scent to be diffused; (c) reading information concerning a scent to be diffused from the database constructed in step (b); and (d) mixing and spraying the corresponding one or more individual original scents according to the information read in step (c).